


Adnascentia

by carolinecrane



Category: Creep (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clothed Sex, Crueltide, Dubious Morality, Kidnapping, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Post-Canon, Stockholm Syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-07 08:57:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5450888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aaron's got a dozen different excuses for why he went to the park to meet Josef, but all they are is excuses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adnascentia

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wayfarers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wayfarers/gifts).



It’s dark when Aaron wakes up. For a few seconds he doesn’t know where he is; he remembers going to the park, remembers sitting on the bench and looking over the water while he waited for Josef to show up and do whatever it was he was going to do. It probably wasn’t the smartest move, in retrospect, but he’d already tried calling the cops and that hadn’t done him any good, so meeting Josef and hearing him out had seemed like his only choice at the time.

Slowly his eyes adjust to the dim light in the room. He’s lying on a bed, arms stretched above him and when he tries to lower them, his wrists meet resistance and something tightens around them. Panic grips him and he struggles, but the restraints just get tighter until they’re cutting into his skin. 

“Shh,” a familiar voice murmurs from nearby, then strong hands land on him to ease the restraints just enough to stop them from biting into Aaron’s wrists. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

“Josef,” Aaron says, his voice breaking from the fear and he swallows hard and tries again. “Josef. Please untie me.”

There’s a heavy sigh, then Josef’s face hovers into his vision. “I’m sorry, Aaron. I don’t think you’re ready for that yet.”

Before Aaron can insist that he really, _really_ is, Josef’s gone again. He hears soft footsteps and a door clicking shut, then silence.

Aaron has no idea how long Josef leaves him alone. If there’s a window in the room it’s covered in heavy curtains, because there’s no light change to tell him how much time has passed. The only source of light in the room is a single lamp next to the bed, casting a dull yellow beam on most of the bed, and shadows around the rest of the room. 

At some point he must pass out, because when he blinks his eyes open again his shirt’s gone and there’s something around his neck. Aaron doesn’t have to look to know what it is, but he glances down at the small metal heart resting on his chest anyway. He remembers the heartbroken look on Josef’s face when he talked about Aaron throwing away his gift, remembers the anger making his jaw clench too, and wonders which one of those emotions is going to win out.

As soon as he thinks it he hears a noise on the other side of the room, the sound of something heavy like a chair scraping against the floor. 

“Josef?” he says, his voice hoarse from thirst and disuse. He wonders again how long he’s been here. “Josef, I need to use the bathroom, man.”

He tries to lift his head and look around the room, but the restraints keep him from seeing much beyond his own chest. “Josef? What happened to my shirt?”

He hears the scraping again and strains to see, but all he catches is a glimpse of gray fur before Josef bolts for the door and slams it closed behind him. Aaron remembers the fierceness of Josef’s attack the last time he saw him in the Peach Fuzz mask and doesn’t call out again.

~

It’s a long time before Josef comes back. At least it feels like a long time, but Aaron has no way of knowing for sure. When he lets himself into the room he’s just Josef again, and when he hovers into Aaron’s vision without the mask on, Aaron relaxes just a little. But he doesn’t say anything, because if he does Josef might leave, and Aaron has a feeling the longer he stays in this room, the less chance there is that he’ll ever get out.

For a long time Josef just stands over him, staring down at Aaron as though he’s just seeing him for the first time. It’s intense in a really unsettling way, and Aaron’s fighting the urge to squirm when Josef finally breaks the silence.

“There’s something I’ve been wondering about, Aaron.”

“What’s that?” Aaron asks, working hard to keep his voice calm.

“Why did you come back? Was it because you were afraid of me?”

“No,” Aaron says a little too quickly. “Of course not. Look, Josef, I’m sorry I threw out the locket, okay? I felt really bad about that. I was just a little freaked out, that’s all.”

Josef just looks at him for a few more seconds, then his shoulders fall and he sits down on the edge of the bed. “I know I come on kind of strong.”

“No,” Aaron says with as much conviction as he can muster, but Josef waves off his protest.

“It’s true. I can be intense. Angela says so all the time.” He lets out a wistful sigh, then he reaches out and curves a hand around Aaron’s cheek. For a few seconds he just watches the motion of his fingers as they stroke along the edge of Aaron’s beard, and it’s weird, yeah, but it’s Josef, so it’s kind of...not. “But I’m glad I didn’t scare you off completely.”

“Of course not,” Aaron says, wishing with everything in him that he hadn’t gone to the park to hear Josef out. He wonders if Josef found his camera or if it’s still out there somewhere, and if so, how long it will take someone to find it and watch the tape of Aaron being knocked out and kidnapped. It’s small comfort to know the police will actually believe Josef’s a danger once they see the video evidence, because there’s no knowing if they’ll be able to find him in time.

Josef smiles, his fingers sliding down the side of Aaron’s face until his hand’s fitted around Aaron’s throat in a perfect V. He’s not squeezing, but Aaron tenses anyway, and he knows Josef can feel it. “You did set up a camera, though. That was smart, Aaron. Ultimately a waste of time, of course, but it will be nice to have a recording of the moment you came back to me.”

“Josef,” Aaron says, panic flooding him, but that’s as far as he gets before Josef stands up and claps his hands together.

“So! Let’s get you to the bathroom.”

After Josef unties him and leads him to the bathroom -- no windows in there, either, so Aaron figures he’s in some kind of basement -- he leads Aaron back to his room and ties him to the bed again. Aaron considers trying to catch him off guard and making a break for it, but he’s feeling a little light-headed from the lack of food and he knows he’ll just piss off Josef again if he tries to run.

Once he’s secured Josef sits back down on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees and kind of looking over his shoulder at Aaron. “I want you to know that I really care about you, Aaron. I think if we both commit, we can repair our relationship.”

He’s gone again before Aaron comes up with an answer that doesn’t start with, “What relationship?” Because they don’t have a relationship, but they _are_ connected, and not even Aaron can deny it. There’s no other way to explain why he showed up at the park, and he has a feeling it also explains why he’s still alive. The thought makes his blood run cold, but at the same time he still feels a little sorry for Josef.

~

When the door opens again Josef comes in carrying a tray. He sets it down on the table next to the bed, then he sits down on the mattress and smiles at Aaron. “Hungry?”

Aaron opens his mouth to say no, mainly because he isn’t positive the food’s not poisoned. But whatever it is smells fantastic, and before he can answer his stomach lets out a loud growl. Josef laughs and reaches for his wrist, untying the restraint and rubbing Aaron’s skin for a minute before he stands up and helps Aaron into a sitting position. He takes a napkin from the tray and spreads it on Aaron’s lap, then he picks up a bowl and holds it in front of him.

“What...oh,” Aaron says as Josef spoons soup out of the bowl and holds it to Aaron’s lips. He opens his mouth and leans forward a little, watching Josef close up as he spoons chicken soup into Aaron’s mouth.

‘Good?” Josef asks, smiling hopefully. He holds the spoon in front of Aaron as he swallows, his free hand cupped under it to keep soup from dripping onto Aaron’s bare chest. 

“Yeah, it’s great,” Aaron says. “Hey, so what happened to my shirt?”

For a second Josef’s expression clouds, but then he shrugs and spoons some more soup out of the bowl to hold in front of Aaron’s lips. “You got a little blood on it, no big deal. I thought you’d rather not lie here in a dirty shirt, though.”

“Oh. Blood?”

Josef makes a vague ‘hmm’ sound and feeds Aaron another spoonful of soup before he answers. “From when I knocked you out. You know, in the park.”

The way he says it is almost cheerful, like this whole thing is just some big game. And maybe it is, to him. Maybe that’s the point of all this, to mess with Aaron until he breaks. “Josef...”

“Let’s not talk about that now,” Josef interrupts. He holds another spoonful of soup out for Aaron. “Let’s just have a nice dinner together. There will be plenty of time for talking later.”

It sounds like a promise -- or maybe a threat -- but Aaron doesn’t argue. He just sits back and lets Josef feed him soup, then he lets Josef help him drink a glass of water. When he’s done Josef picks up the napkin on his lap and wipes the sides of his mouth, then he sits back and smiles like he can’t think of anywhere he’d rather be.

“Better?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Aaron says, and he’s surprised to find that he actually means it. He didn’t realize how hungry he was, anyway, and now that he’s eaten something he does feel a little better.

Josef’s smile fades and his gaze strays to the back of Aaron’s head. “I am sorry I hit you so hard. I mean, the bleeding stopped pretty quickly, but still.”

“It’s okay,” Aaron says. He reaches up with his free hand to feel the back of his head. There’s a little lump there, and when he pushes on it the flash of pain makes him wince.

“Is it, Aaron? Is it okay?” Josef asks, suddenly fierce, and Aaron wishes he hadn’t said anything. Then he blinks and grins, and the intense expression is gone. “But we’ll talk about that later. Bathroom before bed?”

He lets Aaron use the bathroom and even gives him a new toothbrush to use, then he lets Aaron settle on the bed before he ties him up again. Aaron considers promising to stay put if Josef will just leave him untied, but he knows Josef won’t believe him. The last thing he wants is to make Josef mad again, so he keeps his mouth shut and tries to get as comfortable as possible.

“Goodnight, Aaron,” Josef says. He leans into Aaron’s field of vision, then even closer to press his lips to Aaron’s forehead. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

Then he’s gone, switching off the lamp and leaving Aaron in darkness so thick he can’t see past the end of his own nose. He lies in the dark for a long time, listening for any sound of Josef sneaking back down to finish him off this time. He doesn’t know if Josef is planning to kill him. He isn’t sure Josef knows either, and that’s the thought that keeps him awake long after Josef’s gone.

He’s not sure when he finally fell asleep, but when he wakes up again he’s groggy, fighting through quicksand just to open his eyes. Somewhere in the back of his mind is the thought that Josef must have put something in the soup, but most of his foggy brain is focused on the body wrapped around his. There’s an arm draped over his waist, and that’s definitely a cheek pressed against his chest. Aaron shifts as carefully as he can, but the room is still too dark to see anything.

“Josef?”

There’s no answer, but the cheek lifts away from his chest and the arm slides off his waist, then Aaron feels the mattress dip as Josef stands up in the darkness. Aaron feels him move away, but he doesn’t hear the door open. He holds his breath and listens hard, but he can’t hear Josef breathing.

“Josef?”

Still no answer. Aaron’s head feels thick and he wonders if maybe it was a hallucination. Then he hears the muffled scrape of a chair against the floor.

~

When he wakes up again the lamp is on and his head’s a little clearer. He strains up to look around the room, but as far as he can tell from his limited view, he’s alone. Whether Josef stayed and watched him sleep all night he has no idea; he’d tried to stay awake after he woke up to find Josef in bed with him, but his head was too foggy and eventually he’d drifted back into a troubled sleep interrupted by restless dreams.

He has no idea what Josef wants from him, and worse, he’s not totally sure he’d refuse if Josef just asked. This thing between them is weird and scary and it just might get him killed, but it’s _there_ , and that’s something Aaron hasn’t had for a long time. It’s the reason he showed up at the park, because he could relate to what Josef said about how _alone_ he felt all the time.

Aaron feels pretty alone now, and he finds himself wishing Josef would reappear, even if all he does is sit in his chair and stare at Aaron. It scares him a little that he’s not more scared, mainly because he’s still half-convinced that Josef’s going to get tired of this game and kill him eventually. He tugs on the restraints binding his wrists, just to be sure, but they’re still as secure as ever. He thinks about calling out, but there’s a good chance Josef can’t even hear him down here, and even if he could, Aaron knows he’s not going to show up until he’s ready.

Eventually Josef does show up, carrying the tray with a plate of eggs and a glass of orange juice this time. There’s a little vase with a single daisy in it, too, and Aaron wonders if he’s trying to apologize for last night. He unties Aaron and helps him to the bathroom, but when they get back to the bed Josef doesn’t tie him up again. He doesn’t let him feed himself, either, and Aaron suspects Josef likes that part.

It’s weird, but Aaron doesn’t really mind, so he goes along with it. The truth is that it’s the most attention anyone’s paid him in a long time. He’s had a handful of relationships over the last few years, but none of the girls he dated ever looked at him the way Josef does. No one’s ever focused on him like this, as though he’s the center of the world and nothing else matters. Like time is standing still while they figure out whatever’s happening here.

It’s a crazy thing to think, Aaron knows. What he should be thinking about is how to get out of here. He should be thinking about the best place to smash his orange juice glass into Josef’s face so he can get a decent head start before he makes a run for it. Instead he’s watching Josef watch him, hands clasped in his lap and a cheerful smile on his face.

“So how are you feeling?”

“Uh...okay, I guess,” Aaron says. He rubs one of his wrists without thinking, then stops when he realizes what he’s doing.

“I’m sorry about this,” Josef says, reaching over to pick up Aaron’s hand and rub soothing circles into his wrist. “I have to admit, this is uncharted territory for me too.”

“What, kidnapping?”

As soon as the words are out of his mouth he wishes he could take them back. He sees the flash of anger in Josef’s eyes, and he winces when Josef’s grip on his wrist tightens.

“I’ve been trying to keep him away from here, but saying things like that isn’t helpful.”

“Keep who away?” Aaron asks, though he has a feeling he already knows the answer.

Josef glances over his shoulder like maybe he’s expecting to find someone standing in the doorway watching them. “Peach Fuzz.”

“Peach Fuzz?” Aaron repeats, shaking his head. “Josef, Peach Fuzz isn’t...”

“Shh,” Josef hisses, his fingers leaving Aaron’s wrist to stroke along the side of his face. “It’s hard for me to tell you this, Aaron, but you have a right to know. Peach Fuzz wanted to kill you.”

Aaron’s stomach turns to lead at Josef’s words, which is kind of stupid, because it’s not as though he’s surprised. He’s not surprised that Josef thought about killing him, and he’s not surprised that Josef can’t just admit that it’s him and not Peach Fuzz who’s still thinking about going through with it. He can tell Josef doesn’t _want_ to kill him, but if he can’t help himself...well then, there’s not really anything Aaron can do about it. He’s the one who walked right back into this mess, and all because he couldn’t stand the thought of turning his back on Josef.

His hand comes up to cover Josef’s where it’s curved around his cheek, and when Josef smiles at him, Aaron does his best to smile back. “Does he still want to kill me?”

Josef’s fingers slide through Aaron’s, pulling their hands away from his face and holding them together in his lap. “I have to tie you up again. Just for a little while.”

“Wait, I thought we were going to talk,” Aaron says as Josef secures his wrist and then stands up to secure the other one. When he’s done he looks down at Aaron, sighing as though he really does regret leaving.

“We will. When the time is right.”

Josef reaches out and touches his face again, just for a moment, then he picks up the tray and closes the door behind him. 

~

Aaron’s head doesn’t start to swim right away. It takes a little while for the drugs to kick in, but he feels it when they do. His limbs get heavy first, then his eyelids, until finally it’s too much effort to try to keep them open. He slips into a restless sleep, images of Josef and Peach Fuzz floating in his mind’s eye.

In one dream he’s running through the woods, his chest heaving with the effort to keep ahead of whatever’s chasing him. Aaron casts a glance over his shoulder and spots a blur of gray fur, hears the snarl of an animal on the hunt, then he stumbles and falls, and just like that Peach Fuzz is on him. He shoves Aaron to the ground and leaps on him, biting and scratching at Aaron’s neck and sides.

Aaron screams himself awake, but instead of finding himself alone in the dimly lit room, there’s something heavy holding him to the bed. Something heavy and warm, straddling his thighs and snuffling at his neck, fingers digging hard into Aaron’s sides. Aaron’s heart is pounding way too fast and the fur of the Peach Fuzz mask is sticking to his sweat-slick skin. This is the moment when Josef -- when Peach Fuzz -- kills him, he’s sure of it.

He knows he’s about to die and he knows he should be afraid, but instead he’s...hard.

Okay, so he wasn’t expecting _that_. He’s sort of gotten the impression Josef might be thinking it, especially after he found out Josef’s ‘wife’ was really his sister. But Aaron’s never so much as kissed another guy before, not even in college. He’s thought about it a little since he met Josef, but he wasn’t planning for anything to happen. He wasn’t expecting to wake up with Josef straddling him while he was wearing the Peach Fuzz mask, either, just like he wasn’t expecting to get kidnapped in the first place.

Except that maybe he was expecting that part, at least a little. Since he woke up in this room he’s been trying to figure out why he went to that park to meet Josef. He’s come up with a dozen different excuses, but that’s all they really are. The real reason is that he just wanted to see Josef again. Aaron knew he was kind of nuts, and he knew it was dangerous, but he knew Josef felt something for him, and he wasn’t ready to let that go.

A low growl vibrates through Josef’s chest and Aaron wonders if he’d be biting if he wasn’t wearing the mask instead. The thought makes him buck his hips up hard, lifting them both off the mattress. Josef snarls and digs his fingers in harder, so Aaron does it again. His heart’s pounding hard in his chest and he feels breathless, like he just ran a mile. Fear and adrenaline and anger fight for control, and underneath it all there’s this _want_ clawing at him, making him push back against Josef with everything in him.

It’s not much of a fight, considering he’s still tied up, restraints biting into his wrists the way Josef seems to want to bite at his neck. He can’t shove Josef away, can’t drag him closer either, and it’s as frustrating as it is terrifying. Except Josef’s not so much fighting him anymore as he is rocking down into Aaron’s thrusts, dragging frustrated noises out of him until he finally grinds up at just the right angle and comes.

For a few seconds afterwards neither of them moves. Aaron’s panting too hard to notice what Josef’s doing, but when he catches his breath and opens his eyes Josef’s still straddling him, staring down at him with his head tilted to one side, so the Peach Fuzz mask looks more like a confused puppy than a wolf.

He knows he should probably be embarrassed, but he’s not the one wearing the wolf mask here, so he figures they’re even. He has no idea what any of this means; for all he knows Josef’s still planning to kill him, but at the moment he’s just staring like he’s not sure what just happened. Aaron won’t be any help there, because even if Josef asks he won’t be able to explain it.

Josef doesn’t ask. He just stares for a while longer, then he climbs off Aaron and lets himself out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Aaron confused and sticky and wishing for a shower.

~

When he wakes up his wrists have been untied. They ache from where the restraints cut into them, but it feels good to relax his arms for a while. He’s not paying much attention to his arms, though, because there’s a hand on the center of his chest and Josef’s curled around him again. He’s breathing pretty steadily and Aaron thinks he might be asleep, but when he lifts a hand and brushes it across Josef’s shoulder, Josef murmurs into Aaron’s skin and pushes up on one elbow to look down at him.

“I lied to you again,” Josef says. He looks contrite, like he’s expecting Aaron to be mad. 

“What about?” Aaron asks, ignoring the fact that they technically had sex, and now they're _cuddling_.

“I told you it was Peach Fuzz who was thinking about killing you because I didn’t want to admit it was me all along.” Josef reaches out and takes Aaron’s hand, rubbing little circles into his sore wrist as he speaks. “I mean, Peach Fuzz is just a mask. A mask can’t kill anyone.”

“So last night...you were going to kill me?”

“I was supposed to kill you,” Josef says, like he has no choice. “That’s how it usually goes. When you showed up in the park, I planned to kill you. But then I saw you, and I couldn’t do it.”

Aaron’s heart is racing again, but he’s not really worried about Josef killing him anymore. If he wanted to do it he would have done it last night, while he was wearing the mask. He doesn’t understand everything yet, but he thinks he’s starting to get it, and he’s pretty sure Josef needs the mask to let out the monster inside him. He wonders if Josef can feel the way his pulse is hammering, and he wonders if Josef will guess the reason why.

“You were so trusting, just sitting there, looking out at the lake,” Josef continues, his hand wrapped around Aaron’s now and resting it against his chest, just below the locket Aaron’s still wearing. “You didn’t give up on me.”

“No,” Aaron says. He turns his hand in Josef’s until their fingers are threaded together, and when he squeezes Josef looks at him like he’s thinking about crying. “I guess I didn’t.”

“I still wasn’t sure. I mean, I thought I saw it that day we first met. I told you that, the second when I first scared you and I thought I saw the monster lurking in your eyes. But until last night, I wasn’t sure I was right.”

Josef shifts closer, leaning up to press a kiss to Aaron’s forehead. He pulls back and looks down at Aaron for a long moment, then he leans in again and presses his lips to Aaron’s for a brief, chaste kiss. Aaron expects it to be weird, but it’s really not. No weirder than anything else about them, anyway, and Aaron’s starting to see the appeal of weird.

“I’m glad you came back to me.”

“Me too,” Aaron says, a little surprised to find that he means it.

“There’s a lot I still have to tell you,” Josef says, easing his hand out of Aaron’s to reach up and curve his fingers around Aaron’s cheek. “Some of it might be a little hard to understand at first.”

“I know,” Aaron says, and he means that too. “But first I could use a shower, if that’s okay.”

He’s not sure what kind of answer he’s expecting, but Josef’s bright, delighted laugh isn’t it. Aaron laughs too, then he lets Josef kiss him again before he climbs off the bed and pulls Aaron to his feet.

“Of course. Listen, do you want to come upstairs? I have some clothes up there I think will fit you.”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Aaron answers. He follows Josef to the door of the little room, then collides with Josef’s back when he stops abruptly. He turns and fixes Aaron with a fierce look, and just for a second Aaron wonders if he was wrong about the mask. 

“You’re not going to leave?”

Aaron gets what he’s asking; he wants to know if this is all some elaborate escape plan. And if Aaron knew what was good for him, it would be. But there’s something about Josef that’s gotten under his skin, and he’s not ready to give it up yet. 

“No,” he says with equal fierceness.

That’s all it takes for Josef to smile again, bright and delighted, and he hugs Aaron tight before he turns to lead him upstairs into the house Aaron’s been living in for days, but still hasn’t seen. “Come on, let’s get you that shower. And after that I’ll make us some breakfast.”

“Great,” Aaron says as he follows Josef up the stairs. “Sounds perfect.”


End file.
